Shetland shawls are originally from the Shetland Islands in Scotland. Traditionally, they're also made from yarns made from wool from Shetland sheep (an actual breed). The two kinds of Shetland shawls with which I'm familiar are the hap shawls and the lace ones. Both are knitted. Hap shawls are square, usually have a solid center, with borders and edgings, and made with a sturdier yarn. They are worn folded in half (to form a triangle), and then worn, well, shawl style. They're big enough so that the majority of it lies across the wearer's back, while the end formed by the 45-degree angle corners cross across the chest, and then are tucked in back into the waistband of one's skirt, trousers, etc. Keeps you nicely warm, but leaves your arms free for working. The really fine lacey shawls were apparently developed in the 19th century for the tourist industry. They can take a very, very long time to knit, let alone spin the yarn for them (think of a yarn or thread that's only 5 or 6 hairs thick....In spinning/knitting circles, it's usually known as "cobweb weight" for a reason!) You can purchase cobweb weight yarn online, by the way, as well as various laceweights. Schoolhousepress is a good source--they sell Jamieson's yarn, which is "authentic" Shetland wool, as well as several other kinds (fine Icelandics, etc.). People also use other yarns, for slightly less traditional shawls--I'm making one with lace-weight alpaca, and folks have made them from silk, silk/wool blends, cashmere, etc. >From the warmth perspective on fibers, there are a number of fibers that are warmer than wool, although it's wonderful, wonderful stuff. Alpaca, for one, is something like 7 times warmer than wool (comes from a member of the camelid family, originally from South America). There's also llama (a relative of alpaca), vicuna (very difficult to get), and the warmest of all, quiviut, which is *very* expensive, but a dream for warmth. There are also yahoo lists dedicated to lace knitting, and they're a great resource. I'm on a couple of them, but my favorite is "EZasPI," which started as a knitalong for a Pi shawl (a particular type of technique used for making circular shawls, developed by a woman named Elizabeth Zimmerman). This fall, we had a guest on the list, who actually lives in Orkney (another island off of Scotland), who led us in a wonderful two-month workshop (all online) on Shetland lace making. --Sue in foggy Montana, going back to the lurking swamp ;o)
----- Original Message ----- From: "suzy" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, December 23, 2005 11:04 PM Subject: Re: [lace] wool lace weight thread > --- Fran Higham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I have seen 1 ply Shetland wool for sale - the type that is used to > make the famous Shetland 'ring' shawls. > > i've been trying to make the shetland wool yarn or thread, only the > book i have says they use it for an orenberg shawl. they have the same > concept to fit through a ring. i'm sure i'll offend many geography > buffs, but i'm going to ask which country would be known for shetland > shawls? the orenberg shawls are russian. as far as the yarn,it is not > that difficult to spin to that fine of a yarn with wool, but it is > difficult to get the fiber originally used. they originally used goat > down, but i've read wool is warmer than most fibers and only second to > silk. > > > > Hand spun wool is a bit different and it depends on whether it is > greasy wool or scoured wool and whether it is in garment or skein > form.> > > this will be handspun yarn, but hasn't been yet, and it is cleaned and > dyed. i wasn't going to spin it at all until i shrunk it up. i was > going to take the whole roving and put it in 3 foot long loops, cover > them in a cotton cloth, tie the middle and both ends and then wash and > agitate them in hot water. is it possible to spin from that type of > wool that has been shrunk? or is it too much of a mess? > > i've given up on the use of wool as a lace thread. it is too springy > and fuzzy! > > than you for your replies. i really do appreciate them. i would hate > to ruin a perfectly good roving. > > from suzy in tennessee,u.s.a. > > > > __________________________________________ > Yahoo! DSL - Something to write home about. > Just $16.99/mo. or less. > dsl.yahoo.com > > - > To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: > unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to > [EMAIL PROTECTED] - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
